Nanotechnology and Diabetes.

This post is for M and The Blue Prince! It is an example of Technology and Medicine combining to make one stellar product. I learned about this product in my Pharmacology class this week.

Thanks to nano-technology, diabetics may soon be able to replace insulin injects/pumps with implants. The implant will contain millions of pancreatic cells. These real cells will then secrete insulin into tiny capsules. These capsules are absorbed into the body.

Bascially, the implant will act like an artificial pancreas. Human blood will be able to flow into the implant, which will stimulates the cells to make insulin, controlling blood sugar levels.

What else is cool is that the implant will contain nano pores. These pores will be so tiny that the body's antibodies cannot enter to attack the 'foreign' cells, but they will be large enough to allow the flow of insulin into the body.

The patches will be disposable. Once a day, the old patch will be disposed of and a new patch will be placed on the body. Each patch will contain enough insulin for one day. The patch will be about the size of a dime.

How cool! (The image is of a ring that would contain the patch. Source here).